水清無魚
shuǐ​qīng​wú​yú

don't ask for perfection

  • created reference approved 水清无鱼/水清無魚 → 水至清则无鱼/水至清則無魚 (variant) — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    水清无鱼 / 水清無魚 shuǐ​qīng​wú​yú

    水至清则无鱼 / 水至清則無魚 shuǐ​zhì​qīng​zé​wú​yú

    variant

    Changed: source (simp), source (trad), source pinyin, target (simp), target (trad), target pinyin, type

    created reference

  • created sense approved 水清无鱼/水清無魚 · shuǐ​qīng​wú​yú · don't ask for perfection — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    水清无鱼 / 水清無魚

    shuǐ​qīng​wú​yú

    don't ask for perfection

    literally 'water that is too clean has no fish'; used to suggest that one who is overly critical or strict will have no friends or followers

    水 (literal) → 水 · shuǐ · water 清 (literal) → 清 · qīng · clear 无 (literal) → 无/無 · wú · to not have 鱼 (literal) → 鱼/魚 · yú · fish

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense